Turkey moves to normalize Armenia ties to please Biden

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday that Ankara will work to normalize relations with Yerevan, Bloomberg wrote.

“We will appoint mutual special representatives for normalizing relations with Armenia,” Cavusoglu said in a speech to parliament, noting that Ankara is coordinating its steps with Azerbaijan.

Bloomberg says Turkey’s surprise offer is in line with the request of US President Joe Biden, who called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to open the border with landlocked Armenia during a meeting in Rome in October. A high-ranking Turkish official told the media about this earlier. According to the publication, Turkey hopes that the steps aimed at normalizing relations with Armenia will help Ankara to improve relations with Washington, which have become tense due to the purchase of Russian air defense systems.

Following the Biden-Erdogan meeting, the two countries have set up a mechanism to resolve issues that have poisoned relations between the two NATO allies, who share broader security and economic interests. Bloomberg ays that Erdoոgan can benefit from any foreign policy move that will help stabilize the economy, as unprecedented inflation threatens his popularity before the 2023 elections.